Sound Life, Sound Life
by ShadowManz
Summary: In honor of the holidays, I decided to write a few short stories centering around the Dangerous Storms characters. Watch as Hurricane's parents meet! The galaxies erupt in a massive ball of fire as two worlds converse! The first story is about Noctourne, and then Storm Rider, and finally everyone's favorite schizophrenic. It's about to get all squee up in here, like, big time!
1. Noctourne: Prince With a Hundred Enemies

**Hello to my loyal readers and hello any newcomers! For you new folks, this fic has a few side stories related to my main fanfiction, Dangerous Storms. If you like any of the stories here, be sure to check DS for more! And as always, I will love to read your thougts or constructive criticisms in a review :).**

** Andiamo!**

_Noctourne: Prince With a Thousand Enemies_

_Tap-tap.  
_Shut up.  
_Tap-tap-tappity-tap_

Groaning, I pulled the blanket off my head. I was greeted by harsh darkness. Illuminating my horn, I allowed myself a few seconds for my eyes to adjust and my senses clear. There was a faint humming sound of a train moving. Stumbling toward the door of my passenger car, I struggled to stay standing, not used to the shaking of the train. Flinging the door open, I saw a stallion wearing an ascot cap. He had a dark charcoal coat and rust colored eyes.  
"You Noctourne?"  
I glared at him.

He snorted and continued. "You sure don't look like a Mage."  
"I sure didn't call anypony for room service," I hissed, narrowing my eyes. I began to close the door, but the colt stuck his hoof out, blocking it.  
"A few soldiers boarded my train at our midnight stop. They're rambling about and I think they're searching for something. A few passengers are getting anxious."

I felt like snapping his fetlock off.

"Yeah, so what?"  
"Do you have any idea what they're looking for? Frightened passengers are bad for business."  
"No."

The conductor gave me a hard look of his own. "Look, if there really is something to worry about, I could charge double the fare. And if I could get you on guard duty we could both make some good mon-"

"Listen," I interrupted. "I'm a simple passenger. My life and safety is depending on your defenses, so _don't _let me down."

I shoved past him trotted toward the main cart. He had said soldiers, but which? Wonderbolts? Mages? Royal Guard? And if they're searching for something what for? We were far north- only about a hundred miles into the Arctic circle. What could they be looking for this far up? It must've been important, or they would've waited until we took a southerly course. I paused to glance out a window. The sky was a dark violet, so not a lot of time could've passed since the last stop.

Even though the train was heated, it was much colder in the corridor than in my quarters. In the main lobby, uniformed ponies milled about, almost a dozen in all.  
"Lieutenant!" I called to skinny looking pony.

"What buisness do you have here?" He looked like a pony made out of stilts- if I patted him on the back I might accidently snap him in half. He looked me up and down skeptically, and I couldn't blame him. My coat was coal black and had a few dark grey speckles scattered around my barrel. My mane was azure and looked liked I scrapped with a manticore. In a torando.

"O-o-ur b-b-uisness h-here i-i-i-s not that o-o-of a c-c-civilians," he said, speaking with a thick stutter. My hoof reached toward my side expecting to feel the cold metal of a pocket watch. It is issued to all Mages with the Sun of Equestria engraved on it, acting as a sort of identification. Realizing I left it in my bag, I sighed.  
"Look, I just wa-"

"Oh leave him be Noctourne, he'd probably get a heart attack if you whipped out any of your freaky unicorn magic," a new voice butted in. It was a throaty voice. A cheerful voice. A voice I recognized.

"Major Pie, it's been a while since I've seen you about," I murmured glancing at the stallion warily. The closest thing I can compare Major Pie was…was mammoth. A grand, pink mammoth. He was pink all over, curly pink mane, glossy pink coat, the only non-pink thing was his eyes, which where a burning red. Pecan Pie was a remarkably large stallion who absolutely towers over most of the other ponies around him. I've been considered not exactly short, more stocky, even still…I feel as if he might step on somepony and crush them if he wasn't paying too much attention. While his physique is usually barely hidden beneath his uniform, it seemed he need only flex all his muscles at once to tear his garments to threads and leave him bare and bulging - a carriage he seems to generally prefer. In other words? He made my blood pressure shoot up to uncomfortable levels and irritation fill my head. Either way, this mammoth-pony is a friend of mine, even though I'm a Mage and he's not.

"Major Pie, the conductor of this train would like to know what you're searching for. You seem to be spooking the passengers."  
He grinned and crouched down to my level. "Well…I can't go into too much details but…" He leaned even closer to my face.

"We're hunting a war criminal."

Confused, I blinked. It's been fifity four years since Equestria's last war- the Changeling War. A top priority war criminal could easily pass off as a senior citizen.  
"Really now? Is he dangerous?"

"Nothing we can't handle!" Pie boasted with a wide grin. "There's doubt that the scum's on board, but we're checking just to be on the safe side."

"Ah…well then, good luck," I said, turning to leave. Good luck finding your war criminal/ old age pensioner...

"Hey! Hey wait! You wanna help?"  
I paused. Slowly, I turned around and fixed him with a gaze of steel.  
"No."

I shook my head and headed toward the luggage car. I should've kept my watch on me, just in case somepony wanted identification. Being a Mage, that's all I need. We're at the top of Equestrian society. Anypony who wants to get in our way better be full metal.  
"Good grief," I breathed to myself. "I like to travel more quietly."

After rooting through the litter of bags, I came acroos my own and found my watch.

"Now…to catch some more Z's-!" A loud crash above my head was met with sudden pain in my face. A metal panel of the ceiling collided with my head and I fell to the ground in a heap.

"Oh buck!" a female voice snapped, pulling the vent panel back up into the ceiling. From the corner of my eye I saw a dark coated mare disappearing into the roof. I heard hear hoof steps in the vent and waited for the right moment...

_SCRUNCH!  
_

Coated in my blue aura, the ceiling and metal sheets ripped apart exposing the ventilation system. The mare fell down and landed with a _whump _on her stomach. I grabbed a clump of her mane and slammed her head to floor.

"Hey," I growled in her ear. "If your going to give somepony trouble, you better apologize." I felt something wet on my face. I released her from my grip to touched it. My hoof came away bright crimson.

"See? Just look at this blood! You did that when you bashed through the vent!"

I engulfed her body in my aura and raised her a few inches of the ground. I paused, then glanced out the window. We weren't moving that fast…so if I threw her out of it she probably wouldn't die. Maybe break most of her bones…but not exactly death. Even though she should've been put in her place, I decided against it. Afterall, whoever owned this train may sue me for breaking a window. That would reflect badly on Mages. Her mid air squirming snapped me out of my thoughts. She was flailing, almost looking as if she were trying to claw her way over to my throat. Amused, I smirked a bit.

"A stranglehold? That won't work while your in midair."

She ignored me and continued to struggle. I studied her for a few moments. She was a pegasus, with sleek wings that seemed to belong to a crow or raven. She had a dim gray shaggy mane, and sharp harlequin eyes. Dust and cobwebs clung to her licorice colored fur and her left wing stuck out oddly, hanging limp at her side. I could see her frame pressed against her skin, which was missing patches of fur. I watched her struggle for a bit more, then spoke.

"You're a stowaway, aren't you?" I said, releasing her. She fell to the ground oncemore. She took a step back and flared her wings, her eyes wide with panic. Her gaze couldn't rest always darting about, like a trapped mouse. Like a fox who would chew off its own foot to get out of a leg trap.

"Don't…don't turn me in. You don't know what they could do to me," her voice was shaking and uneven "Please…"

**...**

"You bought two cartons of milk, a salad, and four bags of pretzels. Don't eat it all at once or you could get sick," Pie called after me when he saw me carrying my purchases. "It's almost as if you're feeding an entire family!"

No…just an anxiety rich stowaway. I paused to shift my the bags and replied brusquely, "You think so?".  
Major Pie grinned.  
"Yup. I was gonna say that all that was for yourself, but that'd probably ruin your self esteem, pretty boy."

As jolly as he was, Pie was still a very sharp pony. My sole salvation is he doesn't realize how sharp he is. And no, I don't have low self esteem, it's a mistake. I have low esteem for everyone else.

Reaching my room, I purposely slammed the door shut. The mare jumped up like a startled cat, wings spread and eyes wide.

"Did I wake you? I guess that means that you haven't been murdered. Well, that's good."  
I reached in the brown bag and pulled out some packaged pretzels. "Here."  
She looked at me suspisciously and rushed at me in a flurry of feathers, snatched it, and retreated back to her corner. She ripped at the package and spilled pretzels out. She hastily shoved them into her mouth, pausing only to turn her head and give me a nod. I guess that's her sign of approval.

When she finshed eating she peeked out of the window. "It's…it's really dark out there. Not a light to be seen. Even the snow looks black."

"Oh yeah?" I said, flopping onto my bed. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark."

"I'm not!" she spat visciously.  
"Are you going to tell what you were doing up there?" I pressed, ignoring her.

She hesitated. Pressing herself closer to the wall, as if she expected herself to melt away in it she mumbled, "When I snuck on…I fell asleep. And when I woke up…we were moving."

Her coat shuddered. "It didn't feel natural. It didn't feel right. I sort of panicked…and fell on you. Sorry about that."

"That's kind of what trains do," I said with a snort. "Have ever been on a train before?"  
She ducked her head. "No."

I twisted my head to get a good look at her. "Why not?"  
"Well ah… I've lived in the Arctic all my life. In a fort. I…I'm not supposed to leave it. Bad things are going to happen to me if they catch me. When I escaped, I found this village, and they took a liking to me. Hid me until this train came." Her green eyes stood out brightly against the dark. "The villagers snuck me on."

I pricked my ears. In this world, you could always trust in there being a 'they'. I think I know which 'they' she's talking about…  
"Your the war criminal they're looking for, I take it." I raked my eyes across her body.

"You're awfully young. How old are you?"  
"I'm not sure."

Was she lying? Or did she really not know?  
"I'm Storm Rider," she offered quickly. "Please, just call me Rider."

"Noctourne."  
She dipped her head to me. "Thank you…thank you very much for helping me, Noctourne. I want… to tell you more…" Her voice faltered and fear returned in her eyes. "But what are going to do with me?"

I yawned. "First, I'll sleep. And when I wake up, I guess we'll figure something out."  
She gave me a small nod, and curled into a tight ball on the floor.

Rolling onto my side, I told her, "I don't think your much of a criminal. What will they do to you for escaping your fort?"

"Kill me." Her whisper rang out in the darkness.  
"Oh."

I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath, and counted how many charges that could be filed against me for helping a 'war criminal'. When I finished, I opened them and tossed her the blanket.  
"We're still pretty far north. You might get sick."

**Well, that's the first chapter! What did you think? **


	2. Storm Rider: Blackbird's Song

**Oh look, a song. That's not odd for a ShadowManz story =P**

_Storm Rider: Blackbird's Song_

I watched my daughter take a couple of shaky steps. Her stubby foal legs scrambled over a lump in the thick rug, and her wings that were covered in soft silver down feathers were flapping wildly. I watched her intently, wondering what her wings will be like when she sheds her down feathers. Black like mine? Gray speckled like my father? My daughter paused, staring at a stack of books that stood four times her size. She let out squeak and tumbled back toward me.  
"It's okay, Hurricane, you're Mama's right here," I said, nuzzling her ears. She snaked around my legs for a moment, and then found content in batting at the tip of my tail. I studied her for a moment, and then my heart sank into exhaustion. _Noctourne…you should be here too._ I flopped onto my belly and let out a puff of air. I lived in hiding in his townhouse for almost a year and a half. And in all that time, I never expected to fall in love with anypony, much less have their foal.

For a while, everything seemed good for me. Everything seemed safe. Secure. And then one day, I was discovered. I was shoved into a dog crate...Noctourne was arrested…my world seemed to fall apart. And that small world I had, I cherished. Due to the sensitivity of my family's "crimes", Noctourne wasn't exactly charged with anything, but was sort of made a tool for the crown, and he was stuck bargaining with higher ups to spare my life. Or, at least that's what he said in his letters. But for all I know, those could've been forged.

Pricking my ears, I heard hoofsteps climbing up the stairs. Sitting up, I pulled Hurricane closer to me. I could feel my heart speeding up, as well as panic streaking through my body. I held my breath, but released it when I saw who it was. Two ponies entered the library, the first one was the doctor who had helped me birth. His name was Jeiff. He speaks oddly, but if you spend enough time with him, you eventually understand what he's saying. The second pony was a mare, unfamiliar to me. She wore the black and silver uniform all Mages wore, and that hightened my uncertainty. She was- of course- a unicorn. She had a dark ginger coat that looked almost orange, and a yellow mane that fastened up in the back with a clip barrette in a style that reminded me of a bird's tail.

"Hello..." she said, stopping hesitantly. She reached into her pocket to open a notebook, scanning it. "Storm Rider," she added quickly. She stuck out a hoof.  
"I am Colonel Firestar, but I doubt there's any need for formalities here, so please, Firestar if you will."

I tensed, but shook her hoof and mumbled, "Pleased to be acquainted."  
Firestar angled her ears toward the door. "Doctor, thank you for escorting me here. And now, I'd like to have a private word with Storm Rider."  
Jeiff nodded and exited the room, quietly closing the door. Firestar looked at me keenly, and then sent her gaze wandering toward the fireplace.

"You do know that…that…Commander Hurricane's bloodline was supposed to end with you, right?"  
"Yes," I replied bluntly. Firestar nodded and switched her gaze to Hurricane.  
"And as for her, the royals want her dead."

I stood and flared my wings. "Yeah? Good luck with that!"

The Mage regarded me calmly. "I'm Noctourne's ally, so I suggest that you get a grip of yourself. At this point, it'd be stupid to reject allies."  
I paused, staring into her violet eyes, and then sat down.  
"How is he?" I hissed insistently. "Have they hurt him?"

Firestar shook her head. "No, nopony in their right mind would lay a hoof on him because of the blood he carries. The most he's getting hit with is meetings and a lot of pleading." Her eyes sparked with amusement. "Watching him beg for your life is actually almost satisying. It's taking his ego down a few notches."  
I see absolutely _nothing _funny about that.

She stifled a yawn. "The news of your fate is supposed to arrive tonight."  
"Oh? So what are you doing here?" I said, narrowing my eyes. Firestar got up strutted over to the fire, hunching over it. "He loves you, you know."  
Not bothering to look at me, she continued. "He loves you an awful lot. I've never seen him so…attached to anything. Cynical, pessimistic, and sardonic to a terminal degree, Noctourne's intellectuality and magical insight is often counterbalanced by his pronounced lack of motivation. Your the only thing that seems to inspire him to press foraward. You- and catering to his superiors. I've seen him in his office, he procrastinates all the time, but is very quick to take action when it appears that there's glory and military notoriety to be gained." She shrugged.

"I guess I just wanted to see what attracted him to commit treason of the highest degree."

I gave her a bitter, snarky laugh. "Yeah, well maybe it's 'cos I'm also shallow and self serving."  
Colonel Firestar shot me a sideways glance. "I hope you realize you're not helping me like you."

"I never asked you to like me. From what I understand, your here because you like my husband."  
Firestar remained silent for a long time. And when she finally stood, heading toward the door she had a tiny smile on her face.  
"Good night, Rider. I wish there was more I could do to help, really. But for now, I have to leave. Keep your little one close to you."

**… **

I felt a hoof prod me gently. Slowly, I opened my eyes and was greeted by a mustard colored gaze surrounded by darkness. Noctourne? My heart raced with excitement, but as my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw that this was just a pony in barding. A guard.  
"Miss," he said urgently. "We have to go. _Now_."

He jerked me to my hooves and shoved out of my room. I let myself stumble along, my senses scattered. But then, something didn't feel right. I frantically twisted my head around. "Hurricane?"  
_Where was she?_

"Hurricane!"

I was soon aware of eight more guards around me. One slipped a harness around my torso, and tugged me along. I was used to having this harness around me, but in the dead of night? Something was wrong.  
"Hurricane!"

They led me out of the fort and into the snow. I saw a pony there with a crossbow. Firestar. One of the guards grabbed my head, lowering it, exposing my neck.

The frost was falling. The frost fell onto my body. My nostrils and ears were torpid under the frost. The shriek of of the blizzard crunched into my head. And yet I didn't hear it. I sensed it in my mind and the bristles on my feathers. I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature. And at that moment, I knew what was happening. In my dulled heart, there runs a wire fence to imprison the wind. I knew I will never feel that wind blowing again.

_I won't give up on this journey I've started  
__No, there's still so much to learn ahead  
__I will conquer the uncharted, and travel to where I am led  
__I woke up from a dream  
__Still chasing after things not quite what they seemed  
__On narrow winding roads  
__Full of faces and ponies I had never known  
_

_Don't get me wrong  
__I'm not naive enough to think that things could ever be the same again,  
__As they once were  
__And though you're strong, you'll never understand the way I feel  
__So give it up and don't pretend  
__That you're so sure_

_Every sin may as well be eternal  
__This burden is infernal  
__Is there a way to escape the pain that threatens to seize my light?  
__I just wanna erase all the mistakes  
__Write another story on a blank slate  
__Hoping someday the truth I seek will finally come into sight_

_I wanna scream just to prove I'm alive  
__Cause I'm ready to begin and I'm ready to try  
__No longer blind I have finally opened my eyes  
__Listen to my cry  
_

_I won't play it safe, I'm going, I won't stay  
__To repay the ones I love someday  
__I'll fight till the end, I will be the one to rise again._


	3. Hurricane: Movement of Leaves

_Hurricane: Movement of Leaves_

If there is anything satisfying about being related to Commander Hurricane, it would definitely be the wings. I don't understand how someponies could live there life on the ground. It would drive me bucking insane!  
And what made this winter day extra special was the surprising bit of warm air I had found. See, warm air is _so _much better to fly in. Every time you flap your wings, it creates a shape that your wings push off of; to alter your course, speed, or elevation. Warm air in particular is the easiest for pegasi to carve a shape out of. I mean, warm air isn't directly helping if you want to get somewhere in a hurry, but the feeling of a column of warm air pushing you up higher and higher is magnificent. Absolutely wonderful.

When I was just above the cloudline, I bent my wings back and plummeted to the ground. The slushy, frost covered earth rushed up at me. I was falling! Falling, with nothing at all to stop me from splatting straight into the ground! It was like a nightmare. I was going around sixty miles an hour, aiming right for the ground.

But even though it's scary, it's way cool.

Forget surfing. Forget skateboarding. Forget snowboarding. You haven't lived till you've climbed a pillar of warm air and then gone streaking right down at maximum speed.  
The feeling of air flowing past your body was like being in a hurricane. The bristles on my feather tips were vibrating, making dozens of tiny adjustments to keep me on point. One false movement, I could tumble end over end. And at this speed, it would be easy to break a wing. Breaking a wing at this height would be a death sentence.

"Yaaaaaaaa-ha-ha!" I yelled.

And finally, I met the ground. Muscles in my wings trimmed the dive a few millimeters back. I was in the trees!

Tree! Tree!  
Treetreetreetreetreetree!

I opened my wings and came to a jerking stop. Landing on crushed verglas, I made my way into Ponyville's park. Everything look so…pale. The benches, the grass, even the bridge where the river ran. It was covered in melting snow. Heading toward the bridge, I found a familiar face waiting for me.

"Hey Shadow, what's up?"  
The pony let out a yawn. "Nothing, just getting a frostbitten plot while you fly about like a blind goose."

Playfully, I flicked her shoulder with the tip of my tail. "Don't be grumpy. Snow isn't that bad."  
Shadow gave a snort, and then rustled through her saddle bag.  
"Here, I…uh…found this package. It was adressed to you."

She forked me a packaged with a green bow on top. It was from somepony called…'Deus X. Machina'?

It was filled with muffins, and a note. It said:_ Don't trust him_.  
"Did you write this?" I asked, with a sideways glance at the pony next to me. Shadow looked like she was having an aneurism.  
"O-o-of course not!"

She glanced down at her hooves and mumbled uncertainly. "Hey…Hurricane?"  
"Yeah?"  
"What if…what if I leave you here. Alone. For a long time. Will you…will you come here sometimes?"  
I tilted my head to the side. "You mean alone? Just me?"

"Yes…and Hurricane?" Shadow murmured, lifting her head and looking me dead in the eye. "Will you ever forget about me? And I mean, like…peramanently."  
I gave her a playful shove and said, "No, I won't forget. I promise!"

"Not even if I leave you and the others for a long time?"  
I paused, to think about that. And then I gave her my answer.

**Welp, that's it for this special. Happy holidays to my fellow authors and readers out there! If you like any of the writing or characters here, be sure to check out my main fic: _Dangerous Storms._**

**_PS- I can't believe I pansied out if telling my main character the end of her story is nearing!_**


End file.
